SIAM awards The John von Neumann Lecture and the Peter Henrici Prize at
ICIAM 07

The John von Neumann Lecture was awarded to Nancy Kopell, Boston
University, for "her work on coupled nonlinear oscillators and their
application to chemically reactive media, smooth muscle, the spinal
chord, and the human brain." Professor Kopell's lecture was entitled
"Rhythms of the Nervous System: How to Connect Biophysics with
Behavior."

The John von Neumann Lecture is a feature of the SIAM Annual Meeting.
We thank ETHZ and the organizers of ICIAM 07 for the opportunity to
present the prize and schedule the lecture at ICIAM 07 in the absence of
a SIAM Annual Meeting this year. Further information, including the
complete citation, can be found at
www.siam.org/prizes/sponsored/pdf/Vonneumann-8-13-07.pdf.

The Peter Henrici Prize was awarded jointly by SIAM and ETHZ to Gilbert
Strang, MIT, for his contributions as a researcher and expositor in a
broad range of fields of applied and numerical analysis. The citation
concludes, "His remarkable achievements epitomize the spirit of the
award that honors his thesis advisor, Peter Henrici." For further
information and the complete citation, see
www.siam.org/prizes/sponsored/pdf/Henrici-8-13-07.pdf.

Notices of SIAM prizes awarded in 2007 can be found at
www.siam.org/prizes/archived.php.

In order to test my software for the construction of affine bounding
functions for multivariate polynomials, I am looking for test problems
of the following type:

* Global optimization problem, constraint satisfaction problem, or
nonlinear system, consisting of multivariate polynomials.
* Some or all polynomials should be of high degree (4 or more) in one
or more variables.
* The number of variables appearing in each polynomial should be between
(say) 4 and 25.
* The polynomials should be relatively sparse, i.e. the number of
non-zero terms should not exceed the number of variables by a factor
of more than 5 or 10.

So far, a search of the literature and libraries of test problems has
yielded almost nothing - if you know of any polynomial problems meeting
the above criteria, I would be very grateful to be informed.

We are proud to announce the release of version 1.1 of the LibMultiScale
software package and library, as opensource software under a CECILL-C
license.

The LibMultiScale is a C++ parallel framework for the multiscale coupling
methods dedicated to material simulations. This framework is designed with
the form of a library providing an API which allows to program coupled
simulations.

At the present time, the stable implemented coupling method is based on
Bridging Method from T. Belytschko and S. Xiao.

The coupled parts can be provided by existing projects. In such a manner, the
API gives C++ templated interfaces to reduce to the maximum the cost of
integration taking the form of plugins or alike. Such codes have been
integrated to provide a functional prototype of the framework. For example,
molecular dynamics softwares that have been integrated are Stamp (a code of
the CEA) and Lammps (Sandia laboratories). The unique software of continuum
mechanics, discretized by finite elements, is based on the libMesh framework.

This software is the result of a collaboration between INRIA Futurs Bordeaux
(ScAlApplix team) and the CEA/DPTA Ile de France.

Important features :

-> Belytschko/Xiao coupling method implemented.
-> Cauchy-Born constitutive law available in continuum mechanics component
-> Parallel computation is available with a distribution strategy.
-> Sources are documented.
-> User Docs are provided for the LibMultiScale front-end program and
domains/coupling build as a tutorial.
-> Dumper layer : many generic dumpers are provided, from xyz files to
Paraview files.
-> Sequential stand-alone binary is provided to help proceed a quick test at

LibMultiScale can be freely downloaded, under the terms of the CeCILL-C
license. To ease the development, diffusion, and circulation of information
regarding the LibMultiScale project, most of its resources are hosted on the
InriaGforge platform provided by INRIA at the address

http://gforge.inria.fr/projects/libmultiscale/

Please refer to the LibMultiScale web page at

http://dept-info.labri.fr/~anciaux/

To get presentations, results, contacts, publications.
Please consider the forum page at

http://gforge.inria.fr/forum/?group_id=915

to get help about LibMultiScale or to start any discussion about the employed
coupling method or the multiscale coupling in general.

For any other information, please feel free to contact me at the address
anciaux@labri.fr

Applied Stochastic Processes and Control for Jump-Diffusions:
Modeling, Analysis, and Computation

Floyd B. Hanson, University of Illinois, Chicago, IL, USA

Available late September 2007, xxviii + 441 pages, Softcover,
ISBN 978-0-898716-33-7, SIAM Books Series on Advances in Design and Control,
Number 13, List Price $104.00, SIAM Member Price $72.80, Order Code DC13

Book Description:

This self-contained, practical, entry-level text integrates the basic
principles of applied mathematics, applied probability, and computational
science for a clear presentation of stochastic processes and control
for jump-diffusions in continuous time. The author covers the important
problem of controlling these systems and, through the use of a jump
calculus construction, discusses the strong role of discontinuous and
nonsmooth properties versus random properties in stochastic systems.

The book emphasizes modeling and problem solving and presents sample
applications in financial engineering and biomedical modeling.
Computational and analytic exercises and examples are included
throughout. MATLAB codes for text examples are available online. While
classical applied mathematics is used in most of the chapters to set up
systematic derivations and essential proofs, the final chapter bridges
the gap between the applied and the abstract worlds to give readers an
understanding of the more abstract literature on jump-diffusions.

The Householder Symposium XVII on Numerical Linear Algebra will be held
*June 1 - 6, 2008* in Zeuthen, Germany, a small town located 25 km
southeast of Berlin. This meeting is the seventeenth in a series,
previously called the Gatlinburg Symposia. The conference is named after
its founder Alston S. Householder, one of the pioneers in numerical
linear algebra. The meeting is very informal with the intermingling of
young and established researchers a priority. The thirteenth Householder
Award for the best thesis in numerical linear algebra since 1/1/2005
will be presented. Participants are expected to attend the entire
meeting. Information regarding the meeting is available from the website
http://www3.math.tu-berlin.de/householder_2008/

Attendance at the meeting is by invitation only. We encourage
applications from researchers in numerical linear algebra, matrix
theory, and applied areas such as optimization, differential equations,
signal processing, and control. Each attendee is given the opportunity
to present a talk. Some talks will be plenary lectures with time
allocated for questions while others will be shorter presentations
arranged in parallel sessions. Attendance will be limited to 125
participants because of the size of the conference facility.

For full consideration, conference applications must be received by
*October 20th , 2007*. The procedure to follow is detailed at
http://www3.math.tu-berlin.de/householder_2008/application.php

Limited funding will be available to provide financial assistance for
young researchers and others who need it. The list of attendees together
with the schedule of talks will be announced by January 20, 2008.**

The First Workshop on Parallel and Distributed Computing in Finance
(PDCoF08-Computational Finance - Friday, April 18, 2008)
http://www.cs.umanitoba.ca/~pdcof
to be held in conjunction with the
International Parallel and Distributed Processing Symposium
(IPDPS08) April 14-18, 2008, Miami, FL, USA
(http://www.ipdps.org)

Please visit the conference website for scope, interests and other
details: http://www.cs.umanitoba.ca/pdcof

The general problem of irrigation and transportation in physics and biology
is to transport in the most economical way a source mass distribution onto
a fixed well distribution. Both source and wells distributions are usually
modeled as positive measures in a Cartesian space or in a metric space.
This problem can be looked at as a generalization of the optimal assignment
or the optimal flow problem in operational research, in which case the
subjacent space is a fixed graph. In the new more general setting, the
irrigation network is itself an unknown of the problem. The examples are
manifold: lungs, blood vessels, irrigation or draining networks, natural or
artificial. On the side of urban optimization, the question ranges from the
optimization of the supply networks (power, water, wires) to the public
transportation and traffic optimization problem. The simplest and more noble

and antique version of the problem is the Monge-Kantorovich problem, where
the cost assigned to transportation is just an increasing function of
distance. Fluid mechanics arguments have to be added as soon as the
transportation network is optimized with a flow-dependent cost as is natural

in most of the above mentioned situation: the thicker the vessel, the road,
the channel, the wire etc., the cheaper the transportation.

This long program will involve a community of senior and junior researchers.

The intent is for long-term participants to have an opportunity to learn
about the mathematics of optimal transport from the perspective of multiple
fields and to have an opportunity to form new collaborations. In addition to
these activities, there will be opening tutorials, four workshops, and a
culminating workshop at Lake Arrowhead Conference Center.

More information and an application form is available at
http://www.ipam.ucla.edu/programs/ot2008/. Applications received by
February 1, 2008 will receive fullest consideration.

This is the first announcement of the 18th International Symposium on the
Mathematical Theory of Networks and Systems (MTNMS 2008), Virginia Tech,
Blacksburg, Virginia, Monday July 28 to Friday August 1, 2008
(arrival date Sunday July 27).

MTNS is one of the main conferences in the general area of mathematical
systems and control theory. The symposium is interdisciplinary and is aimed
at mathematicians, engineers and researchers interested in any aspect of
systems theory. MTNS is usually organized every two years and traditionally
covers areas involving a wide range of research directions in mathematical
systems, networks and control theory.

We invite proposals for minicourses, special sessions and contributed
papers. In addition to the book of abstracts, there will be a CD-ROM
distributed at the conference containing longer conference papers.
The deadline for submission of extended abstract/conference paper is
February 15 with notification of Acceptance/Rejection by March 31 and
deadline for final version of the CD-ROM paper of May 15th, 2008.
A second announcement will give details on the date at which the
submission site will be opened. Informal suggestions for minicourses and
special sessions are encouraged at any time; these can be sent to the
conference e-mail address mtns2008@math.vt.edu. For additional and
continuing information, consult our conference web site at
http://www.cpe.vt.edu/mtns08/.

Please feel free to pass this information to persons who might be
interested in attending MTNS 2008.

If you do not wish to receive further information about MTNS 2008, please
let us know by sending a message to mtns2008@math.vt.edu.

A senior researcher position will be available at CERFACS to work in the
Parallel Algorithms Team led by Iain Duff. This permanent position is
available from 1st November 2007, but a later start date would be possible.

The Parallel Algorithms Team is looking for a bright, motivated person
with a good research record and the ability to supervise research
projects and students. The applicant would be expected to join existing
projects in numerical optimization and linear algebra as well as showing
initiative in pursuing new research directions.

Additional benefits of the position include a competitive salary, travel
opportunities, access to state-of-the-art computational facilities (including
both SMP/MPP parallel architectures and high-performance workstations).
A particular strength of CERFACS is its access to real-life applications
through strong and well developed academic/industrial collaborations within a
very active research program in advanced scientific computing.

Relevant information on the application procedure can be found on the web site:
http://www.cerfacs.fr/Admin/rules.html
Please note that a one-page summary of your research plan at CERFACS is
highly recommended.

For detailed information about the Parallel Algorithms Project at CERFACS:
http://www.cerfacs.fr/algor

For more information about Toulouse, the city where CERFACS is located:
http://www.cerfacs.fr/Links/index.html

Applications should be sent before October 12, 2007 to Xavier Vasseur
(vasseur@cerfacs.fr)

Northwestern University is seeking a faculty member in the area of
Computational Materials Science. The appointment will be a joint
tenure-track position in the Departments of Engineering Sciences and Applied
Mathematics (www.esam.northwestern.edu)
and Materials Science and Engineering (www.matsci.northwestern.edu)
at the rank of assistant professor.

Possible areas of interest include, but are not limited to, molecular
dynamics and ab initio simulations of biological molecules and biomolecular
assemblies, and computational methods for continuum modeling of soft or
biological materials.

The candidate must have a PhD or equivalent degree and a solid background in
Applied Mathematics, Materials Science and Computational Methods, as well as
prior research experience in Computational Materials Science. Applicants
should also have the ability to establish an independently funded,
innovative research program and have a strong commitment to teaching.
Applicants should be able to teach core and elective courses in both
departments. The starting date for this position is September 1, 2008.

To ensure full consideration, applicants should submit their curriculum
vitae, research and teaching statements online at
www.esam.northwestern.edu by January
15, 2008 and at least three letters of recommendation to:

Northwestern University is an Affirmative Action, Equal Opportunity
Employer. Applications from women and under-represented minorities are
encouraged. Hiring is contingent upon eligibility to work in the United
States.

Post-doc position at Delft University of Technology on Time
Integration Methods for Unsteady Flows and Fluid-structure
Interactions

The Aerodynamics Group of the Faculty of Aerospace Engineering has a
post-doc vacancy on Time Integration Methods for Unsteady Flows and
Fluid-structure Interactions, starting December 2007.

The topic of this two-year post-doc position is sophisticated time
integration methods for unsteady turbulent flows and fluid-structure
interactions. The main application lies in aerodynamics and aero
elasticity for wind turbines. The position is part of a larger
project, "Uncertainties in unsteady flows and fluid-structure
interaction simulations - applied to wind turbines at sea", funded
by STW (Dutch Technology Foundation). One of this projects goals is
to obtain a reduction in computational time for unsteady turbulent
flow and fluid-structure interaction simulations using sophisticated
time integration techniques, for which we now seek a post-doc
candidate.

A full text description is available online:
http://www.vacaturesindelft.nl/phd/vacature.php?Id=827&Cat=17

To apply please send a detailed CV together with a letter of
motivation before October 5, 2007 to

For the research project "numerical methods for the accurate and
efficient simulation of multiphase-multicomponent reactive flow in the
capillary fringe" as part of a newly established DFG research group
(Forschergruppe) we seek a person with a recent Ph.D. in physics,
mathematics, geoscience or computer science with a strong interdisciplinary
interest in modelling and simulation.

In this project improved models
for reactive multiphase flows in the capillary fringe region
(hysteresis, air entrapment, phase exchange) shall be
developed together with a numerical simulator and subsequent
application to the experiments carried out in the research group.

The candidate will join the group "Simulation of Large Systems" at the
Institute for Parallel and Distributed Systems at Stuttgart
University. This interdisciplinary team consists of mathematicians,
physicists as wells as computer scientists and geoscientists.

The position is availably for up to three years on the level of TV-L
13 (approximately 40.000 EUR per year). A limited budget for
travelling is available. The position is available from November 1.

A postdoc position will be available at CERFACS to work in the Parallel
Algorithms Team led by Iain Duff. This post is available from 1 November 2007,
but a later start date would be possible.
This position is for one year and can be extended for another year.

The Parallel Algorithms Team is looking for a bright, motivated person
with a good research background. The applicant would be expected to join
existing projects in numerical linear algebra and optimization but should
be able to also work independently.

Additional benefits of the position include a competitive salary, travel
opportunities, access to state-of-the-art computational facilities (including
both SMP/MPP parallel architectures and high-performance workstations),
and access to real-life applications through fruitful academic/industrial
collaborations in a very active research program in advanced scientific
computing.

Relevant information on the application procedure can be found on the page:
http://www.cerfacs.fr/Admin/rules.html
Please note that a one-page summary of your research plan at CERFACS is
highly recommended.

For detailed information about the Parallel Algorithms Project at CERFACS:
http://www.cerfacs.fr/algor

For more information about Toulouse, the city where CERFACS is located:
http://www.cerfacs.fr/Links/index.html

Applications should be sent before 12 October, 2007 to Xavier Vasseur
(vasseur@cerfacs.fr)

The Applied Mathematics group at the Department of Mathematics and Computer
Science, University of Antwerp is seeking a PhD student in Numerical Analysis.
The group has recently been established by Karel in 't Hout and Wim Vanroose
and deals with the numerical solution of large-scale problems in financial
mathematics, physics, chemistry and engineering. The current opening lies
within the project

Design of new models and techniques for high performance financial applications.

The aim of this project is to analyze and develop efficient and robust
numerical schemes for time-dependent partial differential equations modeling
the prices of contemporary financial products such as exotic options.

Candidates with a strong numerical analysis background and a clear interest in
financial mathematics are encouraged to apply. The position starts on January
1, 2008 and is initially for two years, with the possibility of an extension
for another two years. To apply, please send your CV and a cover letter
electronically before October 15, 2007 to Karel in 't Hout
(karel.inthout@ua.ac.be).

An EPSRC Industrial CASE studentship is available in collaboration with
Pilkington Group Limited and the Mathematics Knowledge Transfer Network in
the UK. The studentship will be based at Imperial College, London in the
Department of Materials and will be supervised by the Head of Department,
Professor Bill Lee and Dr Paul Tangney, who has recently transferred from
Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory. In addition, mathematical support will be
provided by Dr Daniel Lesnic from the Department of Applied Mathematics at
the University of Leeds, who is an acknowledged expert in mathematical
inverse problems.

Many problems in the manufacture and use of glass are associated with the
thermally activated diffusion of ionic species and resultant redox reactions
at the diffusion interface between species with different oxidation states.
This applies to all types of glass, including ancient museum glass of
historical significance, modern float glass and novel glasses used for the
encapsulation and long term storage of nuclear waste. Recent work at
Imperial College has shown that dynamic SIMS (Secondary Ion Mass
Spectrometry) can produce accurate and well defined depth profiles of the
relevant ionic species in glass. These profiles are rich in information and
represent a classic example of a mathematical inverse problem. The aim of
the project is to work back from the depth profiles to elucidate the detail
of the ionic diffusion processes and redox reactions that produced them.

The primary focus of the experimental work will be on the SIMS technique
using state-of-the-art instruments at Imperial College and other
Institutions within Europe, including the University of Warwick and
instrument manufacturers in Germany and France. However, other surface
analysis techniques, such as XPS, SEM, etc. will be used to cross-check and
calibrate the SIMS data. As part of the research the student will have the
opportunity to spend a minimum of 3 months with the industrial sponsor
during the course of their studies, and, as a Mathematics KTN student, there
will be opportunities to attend courses, events and workshops at the
University of Leeds and the Smith Institute.

An individual with a first degree in any of the scientific disciplines with
significant mathematical content and strong interest in mathematical
modelling of physical process will be considered for this opportunity but an
interest in instrumental surface analysis methods is also desirable.

EPSRC CASE studentships are restricted to UK citizens or individuals
normally resident in the UK for the past 3 years. This studentship will be
provided at the standard EPSRC rate of a bursary of £14,600 and home level
fees.

Although the studentship will be available to students who wish to start
later, we are particularly interested in anyone who wishes to commence
before the end of October 2007.

Applications will be processed when received, with the expectation that the
post will be filled by the end October 2007. To apply, please email a copy
of your CV, including the names of 3 referees, to Professor Bill Lee, email
w.e.lee@imperial.ac.uk. Applicants should also complete an on-line
application for a PhD which is available under how to apply at:
www.imperial.ac.uk/pgprospectus. For assistance with the on-line application
please contact Norma Hikel (n.hikel@ic.ac.uk).